LeBron James hit a three-pointer as time expired to give the Cavaliers a 3-2 series lead over the Pacers, but Victor Oladipo believes things should have played out differently. USA TODAY Sports
LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers blocks the shot of Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers late Game Five of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena on April 25, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Cleveland won the game 98-95 to take a 3-2 series lead. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 775153282 ORIG FILE ID: 951302578(Photo: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images)
NBA referees missed two important calls, including goaltending on Cleveland star LeBron James, in the closing seconds of the Cavaliers' 98-95 Game 5 victory against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, the league announced in its Last Two-Minute Report released on Thursday.
James should have been called for goaltending on Pacers guard Victor Oladipo's driving layup with five seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, and had goaltending been called, the basket would have given Indiana a 97-95 lead.
Instead, Cleveland called timeout and set up a play for James, who made a three-pointer as time expired, giving Cleveland a 3-2 series lead.
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However, the refs also missed a call on Cleveland's possession before the Oladipo play that should've allowed the Cavs to maintain possession. As James dribbled toward the rim, Thaddeus Young poked the ball away from James under the basket. The ball hit the baseline, which should've been out of bounds off Young. Cleveland should've had possession with 27.6 seconds left in the game and 18 seconds left on the shot clock of a 95-95 game.
Instead, the ball bounced up, hit James and then went out of bounds, and the ref ruled it Indiana's ball.
The NBA also made note that James lifted his pivot foot before the out-of-bounds sequence, but because it was only observable in enhanced video, the NBA didn't rule that it was a missed call.
So yes, while Indiana was disappointed it didn't get the goaltending call, had refs called the out-of-bounds play correctly, there's no way to play out the sequence of events the same way. Perhaps Cleveland would have made a two or three-pointer. Maybe they wouldn't have. Who knows how the sequence would have played out.
It was an experienced crew: James Capers (more than 100 playoff games, seven Finals games), Bill Spooner (more than 100 playoff games) and Bill Kennedy (more than 100 playoff games, five Finals games). Spooner was the official under the basket on the Oladipo shot, and Kennedy was under the basket on the baseline on James' turnover.
Why didn't the referees review Oladipo's shot after Cleveland called timeout with three seconds left? Because goaltending wasn't called in real time, referees can't review the play. Referees can only review goaltending situations when they "are not reasonably certain whether goaltending or basket interference was called correctly during the last two minutes of the fourth period and overtime," according to the rules.
Why didn't the referees review if the ball went off Young or James? They could have had Kennedy not been reasonably certain which player caused the ball to go out of bounds. But since Kennedy didn't see the ball hit the baseline, he had no reason to doubt his call that the ball went off James. James didn't see it either because if he had, he could have implored Kennedy and the crew to take a look.
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